Scientific Name: Gallinago megala
Malay Name: Berkik Siberia Selatan
Chinese Name: 大沙锥
Range: Breeds in south-central Siberia and northern Mongolia; a separate disjunct population breeds in Ussuriland, in the Russian far east. Winters in parts of southern and eastern China, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, and northern Australia.
Taxonomy: Monotypic.
Size: 27-29 cm
Identification: The rarest of three Gallinago snipes in Singapore, but possibly overlooked due to difficulty in separation from Pin-tailed. From Common Snipe, most obviously differentiated by a lack of clear white trailing edge to the secondaries, shorter bill and larger-headed appearance (see that species for more differences). Apart from a series of overlapping and weakly defined separation features, only truly differentiable from Pin-tailed Snipe with a clear view of the spread tail (or measurements in the hand). On this species, only the outermost pair of tail feathers are narrow (varying from 2 to 4 mm wide), while the rest gradually increase in width towards the central feathers (giving the impression of at least two intermediate-width tail feathers outside the central few, while Pin-tailed shows one intermediate-width feather between the central tail feathers and the six to nine pin-like feathers on the outertail).
Similar looking species: Pin-tailed Snipe, Common Snipe
Habitat: Damp grasslands, edges of waterbodies, and muddy freshwater marshes.
Behaviour/Ecology: Flushed Swinhoe's Snipes are often silent. A snipe that is silent when flushed is more likely Swinhoe's than one that calls, but this is only suggestive. Vocal differences between the two species are poorly understood and more study may reveal that differentiation by flight calls is possible.
Local Status: Rare migrant
Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2016)
- Bird List Revision for May 2019 (Revisions)
- Some birds cannot be identified? (ID Articles)
- Bird identification: more than just photos (Birding Starter Pack)
Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):
Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page
Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link
Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link
eBird Species page: eBird (Swinhoe's Snipe)
References:
BirdLife International. (2016). Gallinago megala. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22693090A93383287.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023
Leader, P. J., & Carey, G. J. (2003). Identification of Pintail Snipe and Swinhoe’s Snipe. British Birds, 96, 178–198.
Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.
Bakewell, D. (2014). Keep Calm and Study Snipes! Part 2. Dig deep. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://digdeep1962.wordpress.com/2014/03/24/keep-calm-and-study-snipes-part-2/.
RECOMMENDED CITATION
Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Swinhoe's Snipe. Retrieved on October 9, 2024 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/swinhoes-snipe.